The Fourth Bear полностью

“You better have a good explanation for this, Spratt—how many times do I have to tell you the Gingerbreadman is not your inquiry?”

Briggs wasn’t in a terribly good mood. True, he was never really in a good mood, but right now he was less so than usual. He liked to think that there existed a strong feeling of trust between his officers and that they wouldn’t go against what he had told them. He had trusted Jack more than most, which annoyed him especially.

“I know this might seem a bit hard to swallow, sir, but this is a coincidence as well.”

“Oh, yes?” replied Briggs, “And give me one good reason why I shouldn’t arrest you for working while suspended?”

“Because you like me and I’m good and I’m the only chance you’ve got to catch the Gingerbreadman.”

Briggs fell silent. He’d begun to think exactly the same. They were standing outside the three bears’ cottage. The trauma team from the Bob Southey Medical Center had turned up promptly and without getting lost; they were an immediate blur of action upon arriving at the scene, successfully stabilizing Ed and Ursula before gently transferring them into ambulances and vanishing back to Reading in a blare of sirens.

The human contingent took a little longer to get there, as they did get lost, but wasted no time as soon as they arrived: Police photographers covered every angle of the two shootings as the white-overalled SOCO officers went through the small cottage to find anything that might show either where the Gingerbreadman was going or where he had been. Jack sat and glowered at all the activity; if the Gingerbreadman hadn’t been involved, then Mary would have had to go begging to Briggs for resources, as usual.

As if the whole thing weren’t bad enough already, NS-4 had turned up in a shiny black Ford Scorpio, and Agent Danvers insisted her “associates” have a good look around. Even more annoyingly, Danvers also wanted to hear Jack’s appraisal of the situation. Briggs declared that this was a police matter but was swiftly overruled by Danvers, who called the Chief Constable personally.

“How is the attempted murder of two bears a national security issue?” asked Jack.

“It just is,” replied Danvers shortly. “Mr. Demetrios himself has requested that we attend.”

“No good can come of squabbling,” announced Briggs, “so why don’t you tell us what you know, Jack, and we can take it from there. Let’s face it, this is one hell of a mess. Berkshire has the best record of Ursidae equality in the European Union. When the Animal Equality Federation gets hold of this, the shit’s really going to hit the fan.”

“At least you know who did it.”

“I suppose so. What were you doing out here anyway?”

“Ed Bruin called me. He said he wasn’t happy and needed to talk.”

Jack felt Danvers’s eyes bore into him but pretended not to notice.

“About the Gingerbreadman?” asked Briggs.

“About Goldilocks.”

“Her death wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“No, sir.”

“Sir,” said Mary as she walked up and handed Jack two clear plastic envelopes. One had a note handwritten in highly distinctive ursine-styled cursive script, the other a photograph. “I thought you’d better see these—I found them on Ed Bruin’s desk.”

Briggs and Copperfield leaned over his shoulder to read the note.

"‘Mr. Curry, Sat., 8:15 A.M., Andersen’s Wood,’" read Briggs.

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” said Jack slowly, thinking carefully, “that ‘Mr. Curry’ was to meet Goldilocks the morning she died.”

“And who’s Mr. Curry?” asked Copperfield.